Pep Hamilton adapts to keep Colts going strong

It was a reunion this season for offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton (right) and Andrew Luck, as both came from Stanford. In recent games, Hamilton has used more no-huddle tempo and three-wide receiver sets on early downs.(Photo: Robert Scheer/The Star)

When first-year offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton introduced his system to the Indianapolis Colts, there likely were some horrified expressions.

There are garden-variety playbooks, and then there’s Hamilton’s playbook, which he admits left a fair number of players “shocked.”

“When I first installed the offense, guys were saying, ‘Hey, man, there’s a lot of volume here,’ ” Hamilton told The Indianapolis Star on Wednesday.

“Well, you have to do that. You have to have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D. It has to be a comprehensive attack because this league is a war of attrition. So, that was by design. You never know over the course of the season who is going to be available.”

Hamilton didn’t know then how prophetic he was. He couldn’t anticipate losing his left guard, Donald Thomas. He didn’t envision coaching without his top two backs, Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw, or No. 1 tight end Dwayne Allen. And he certainly couldn’t picture his offense without ironman receiver Reggie Wayne who, perhaps, is the best thing to ever happen to quarterback Andrew Luck.

“It was like fighting left-handed at times,” Hamilton said.

But his philosophy and foresight have helped the Colts weather a season in which they arguably have been affected by more key injuries than any NFL team.

Consider the toll: The Colts have had 73 players take snaps this season, most in the NFL. Indianapolis has used 36 offensive players, also a league high. The next six clubs on the list all missed the playoffs, underscoring the importance of continuity.

The Hamilton-led offense has helped power the team to an 11-5 record and AFC South championship, with Saturday’s wild-card game against the Kansas City Chiefs providing a chance to make the season more memorable.

It hasn’t always been a work of art. The Colts scored a combined 19 points in November losses to the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals and still have their share of exploitable weaknesses. But none of that undermines the fact that Hamilton has helped keep things on track under the worst of circumstances.

“You have to make changes,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “It’s kind of an adapt-or-die type of principle.”

Luck, a pupil of Hamilton’s at Stanford University, offered this: “If you said (before the season), ‘You’re going to lose however many guys and this is what we’ll be doing,’ you would say, ‘Shoot, will we be in the playoffs?’ ”

Hamilton’s adaptability stems from his experience at Stanford. There, he remembers having seemingly unlimited talent at his disposal with major college football’s limit of 85 scholarship players. In the NFL, with game-day rosters capped at 46 active players, the adjustment is huge.

“I had four fullbacks on scholarship at Stanford and six tight ends,” Hamilton said. “Four of the tight ends are in the NFL now. When somebody went down, it truly was next man up and you didn’t have to change an entire package.”

Understanding the contrasts in the pros, Hamilton felt strongly that a multifaceted offense was essential. He still loves those boring power formations, and he’ll always feature tight ends prominently. But he’s thrown in some intriguing wrinkles of late, the no-huddle tempo and three-wide receiver sets on early downs among the most interesting.

In the end, those long, painstaking days in the offseason were absolutely necessary.

“There’s some shock value to piling all of the playbook on them and saying, ‘Hey, you have to study this,’ ” Hamilton said. “You have some guys who totally shut down and say, ‘Hey, man, this is too much. I’m not used to that.’ Then you have the other guys who embrace that challenge of understanding how it’s going to benefit us all in the long run. This game is learned, not taught.”

Wonder why the Colts have been able to plug in so many players and still have some level of offensive success? Luck is certainly a big reason. But it’s also because the scheme is geared toward employing different players in various ways.

Look, for example, at the way the Colts have expanded the role of receiver T.Y Hilton, now using him in much the same way they used Wayne: Pretty much everywhere.

“You have to have the flexibility within the system to feature your best players,” Hamilton said.

The emphasis on playing smart and efficient also is one of Hamilton’s guiding principles. He learned as an offensive assistant with the New York Jets in 2004 that minimizing turnovers and penalties could compensate for many ills. That team, too, made the playoffs. It committed 15 turnovers — one more than the Colts’ league-low 14 in 2013.

Hamilton remembers telling himself then: “This really is the formula for success.”

So, the Colts’ offense, Hamilton’s play-calling and everything he teaches is done with that in mind.

“With all the changes we had from a personnel standpoint, we survived our mistakes because we never had a bunch of the critical mistakes,” he said.

All told, it’s been nerve-racking, stressful and, at the same time, wonderful for Hamilton. He’s mixed and matched players all the way to the postseason.

What does this week have in store? Who knows? But somewhere in that voluminous playbook, he’s sure to find a thing or two.